


Merry Christmas, Jordan!

by captainamergirl



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Christmas, Drabbles, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-26 09:24:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16678933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: Jordan isn't too sure about this Christmas thing ...





	1. Chapter 1

“What the hell is that?” Jordan asked as the front door opened and Rafe dragged a massive Douglas Fir tree inside. It must have been at least an eight-footer and it was wide, so wide in fact that it almost hadn’t fit through the door.  
  
Rafe smiled at her. “If I have to tell you what it is, then we’ve got a big problem.”  
  
Jordan shook her head but she was smiling. “I know _what_ it is. It’s a tree. A very _enormous_ tree but what’s it doing here?”  
  
“Uh, it’s Christmas, honey. Tis the season to put up Christmas trees, string lights and all that silly stuff.”  
  
“Again, I know, but I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to go overboard this year. We don’t want to go full-on Griswald do we?”  
  
“Sure we do. Why wouldn’t we?” Rafe asked, giving her his cheekiest smile. “Can you grab the stand off of the porch?”  
  
“Yeah, sure,” Jordan said after giving him a thorough eye-roll. She brought in the stand and Rafe went to work setting it up.  
  
Jordan stood off to the side, watching him work. When she was young, before everything went straight to hell in a handbasket, her mom used to do her utmost best to make every holiday as special as it could be. But once she was gone, the holiday had lost its wonder and meaning.  
  
Except Rafe, well, he was determined to make her love Christmastime as much as he did.  
  
“What do you think?” He asked as he righted the ginormous tree.  
  
“I think -” _It’s too big for this living room_ \- “it smells good,” she said.  
  
“I’ll take that,” Rafe said. He moved over to her and pressed a kiss to her left temple. “Why don’t you relax while I finish decorating the place?”  
  
“There’s more huh?”  
  
“Lots and _lots_ more,” Rafe said. “Now that Gigi is getting older, she’s starting to appreciate all the sights and sounds of the holiday.”  
  
“So this is all for our two-year-old’s benefit then?”  
  
“Yeah, of course. Who else?” He said with a sly grin. “I mean, it’s not like I could ever coax you into liking the holiday… could I?”  
  
“Well, I am trying. I really am.”  
  
Several hours later, Rafe had the whole place decorated from stem to stern. There were twinkling lights strung from every surface, ornaments all over the tree, and a huge, electronic Santa Claus danced for passerby in the driveway.  
  
Gigi was sitting on Jordan’s lap, gazing in wonder at all of the bright decorations. She reached for a glass ornament and Jordan stayed her hand, not wanting her to break it and hurt herself. Rafe immediately presented Gigi with her very own Elf on the Shelf doll.  
  
“That is one creepy thing,” Jordan said but seeing the delight on her daughter’s face, she smiled too. She might not be sold on the whole holiday thing just yet, but Gigi was happy, her husband was too… What more could Jordan ever possibly ask for? _Not a thing._


	2. Chapter 2

Jordan found Rafe resting on the sofa, an arm protectively wrapped around Gigi as she slumbered atop his strong chest, one of her hands still clutching that creepy Elf on a Shelf doll. Jordan just stood quietly watching them for a long moment. They looked so peaceful together, so relaxed. She’d never had that kind of closeness with her father - she didn’t even truly know who he was - and certainly not with Clyde. She shivered at the thought of Clyde. Sometimes he still gave her nightmares, even waking ones.  
  
As she navigated her way through a stack of presents to drop quietly into the big stuffed arm chair, Rafe roused and swiped a hand across his eyes. “Hey,” he greeted her with a sleepy smile.  
  
“Hey,” she returned. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”  
  
“You didn’t. I was just resting my eyes,” Rafe lied with a smile.  
  
“You were not. You’re no doubt exhausted from decorating all day.”  
  
“What do you think of the look of the place?” Rafe asked gently.  
  
“I think it looks …” She paused for a moment as she watched the twinkling lights blinking at her from the huge tree. “It looks festive,” she pronounced.  
  
“You really don’t like Christmas, do you?” Rafe said. He sighed. “I can take it down; if that’s what you want. I can-”  
  
She held a hand to stop him. “Please don’t. Gigi deserves this - all of this wonder and beauty and excitement. And so do you,” she said, offering him a small smile.  
  
“Jordan…”  
  
“It’s okay, really. It’s just hard sometimes … Remembering the few great Christmases Ben and I had with my mom before she died… And all of the horrible ones with Clyde. I remember years we got black and blue eyes for our ‘presents’.”  
  
“Oh, honey.” Rafe shifted carefully on the sofa, sitting up and holding his free arm out to Jordan. “Come over here, sweetheart.”  
  
Jordan stood and moved over to him, sliding in beside him and resting her head on his strong, broad shoulder. His arm knotted around her waist and he held her close. She felt so safe with him, so protected, a feeling she definitely hadn’t joined growing up with Clyde. She huddled close to him as he kissed her forehead. Her hand covered Gigi’s curled little fist and she found herself smiling a little.  
  
“She loves this; you love this, so … I’m going to try to love it too.”  
  
“You don’t have to-”  
  
“I want to. I want to learn how to feel the magic you two do at this time of year. I want to embrace it. I can’t - I _won’t_ \- let bitter memories destroy all of this joy in the air.”  
  
Rafe kissed her cheek this time and tugged her still closer to him. “Well, do you know what they say about memories?”  
  
Jordan chuckled. “I don’t, but I think you’re going to tell me.”  
  
“They say memories … You can always make new ones, happier ones.”  
  
Jordan nodded. “I like that,” she murmured. “I like it a lot, actually. I will make new memories. I already am, just sharing this moment with you and Gigi.”  
  
Gigi seemed to hear her name and she opened her eyes, lifting her head and looking at her mom. She held out the Elf on a Shelf doll to Jordan and Jordan smiled before accepting it into her hand. “This really is a scary looking thing.” She chuckled. “But I love it because Gigi does… And I love Geej. And I love you, Rafe. Thank you for never giving up on me.”  
  
Rafe nodded. “I never will.”  
  
“Never, ever?”  
  
“Never, ever.”  
  
Jordan smiled and turned to watch the sparkling tree. With her family right there beside her, she suddenly felt happy. More than that, _she felt at peace._


End file.
